Hunting Party
by DyanaRoseJill
Summary: In which Thor tries to impress a lady with jewelry


Lady Sif was enchanting with her long golden hair. She was also on her way to becoming a warrior in her own right. As far as Thor was concerned, that was the best of both worlds. Unfortunately she hadn't been demonstrating much interest in him as a suitor.  
>He had, however, noticed her admiring one of his mother's necklaces, a carved tooth which hung from a chain of gold links. <p>

Frigga was puzzled when Thor asked her about her necklace, but she told him that the tooth the fang of a Kottr, one of the large cats that hunted in the deep woods to the south.

It was then and there that Thor learned his first lesson unrelated to warrior-ism: the best way to a woman's heart was to buy her lots of jewelry. He knew exactly what he had to do. 

He went to find his brother.

Loki was in his bedchamber, sitting cross-legged on the floor, engrossed in some dusty old book, bound in dark leather. The dark haired Aesir prince mouthed some of the words as he read them.

Without preamble, Thor stalked into the room and grabbed the spine of the book, pulling it out of Loki's hand and holding it over his head, out of reach.

"I have an idea," the blonde informed his brother, "And you are going to help me."

Loki looked up at his brother, towering over him and sighed. He made a little gesture and the book in Thor's hand dissolved into fog, flowing out of Thor's hand to reform on a nearby table. "No." He rose to his feet.

Thor scowled. Ever since his brother had learned that trick, it hadn't been as much fun to steal his books. "You haven't even heard my idea yet."

"That's correct," Loki replied.

"I know how to gain the favor of Lady Sif."

"Again?" Loki sounded unimpressed.

"Yes, but this will work," he told Loki firmly, "I will present her with a necklace made from Kottr fangs." He grinned, "Just like mother has."

"Those are expensive," Loki said doubtfully.

"Not if we make it ourselves."

"You want to organize a Kottr hunting party," Loki realized, "You know father will never allow that. He'll say that it is a waste of time, and too dangerous."

"Not a hunting party," Thor leaned back, crossing his powerful arms over his chest, "Just you and I."

"Are you mad?" Loki stared at his brother, "You do realize what Kottr look like." He made a gesture like opening a book and a small model of the fierce jungle cat materialized on the table. He blew on it and the illusion grew larger and larger until it came just above Thor's waist. The cat bared fangs and claws and snarled at Thor, swiping a massive paw at the blonde Aesir. "And they never hunt alone."

Thor rolled his eyes and passed a hand through the illusion, disrupting it into a faint mist. "I will dispatch with them as easily as this. But if you are too cowardly to come with me, then I will have to go alone." He turned away from Loki and started towards the door. The blonde counted his steps silently. One. Two.

Loki was indignant. "I suppose I will just have to come along to make sure that you don't hurt yourself then."

Thor smiled to himself. That always worked. He gave Loki a few moments to collect his things and then the two made their way out of the castle.

They went to the stables first - it was a fair distance to the deep woods and it would take them too long to walk.

"Let me handle this," Loki told Thor. He approached the stable master. "My brother and I need mounts. We are travelling to Bokasafn."

The stable master looked doubtful. Bokasfin was a great library. It made perfect sense for Loki to visit there, but Thor?

"My brother will be escorting me," Loki explained. He leaned in closer, out of Thor's earshot. "Between you and me, Thor does not believe that I can take care of myself on the road. Father has his guards busy with something, and I could not persuade anyone else to travel with me."

The stablemaster gave a chuckle, "The roads can be dangerous this time of year, but I do not believe that you need the protection."

Loki gave a helpless shrug, "It is difficult to talk my brother out of anything."

"True enough," he chuckled, giving Loki a heartily clap on the back, "But I imagine that after waiting around for you to finish will cure him of the desire to accompany you next time." He turned and called for one of the stablehands to bring horses for Thor and Loki.

Within moments, the two were on the road. Fortunately, Bokasafn was also to the south, and they were well out of sight of the city before they turned off the road, heading towards the forest.

"I don't suppose you have a plan?" Loki called to his brother after a bit.

"We've got something better than a plan," Thor called back, "We have me!" With a shout, he urged his horse into a gallop, leaving Loki to catch up.

When they entered the forest, they slowed to a walk. Loki gave his horse her head, leaving her to pick out her way through the pathless forest. The dark haired Aesir kept an eye out for landmarks to use for navigation on the way home. Eventually though, their horses came to a stop and no amount of urging would make them go forward.  
>Loki and Thor dismounted, soothing their horses.<p>

"We go on foot then," Thor declared as his brother tethered their horses to an apple tree. Loki then walked in a wide circle around the tree and the horses, murmuring softly. A faint greenish line of light spilled from his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Thor asked impatiently.

"If they get eaten, we will have a hard time getting home," Loki pointed out.

"Are you making them invisible?" Thor sounded mildly impressed.

"No," Loki shook his head, "I cannot do that. I am putting up a barrier." He smiled faintly, "Maybe someday though."

Thor nodded, "Yes, someday you'll have more useful magic."

Loki bristled inwardly at that. He'd like to see Thor do some of the spells he had mastered. "Indeed brother."

The two walked on a bit further through the woods. Loki's attention was divided between trying to make sure they did not get lost and trying to see what he remembered about the habits of Kottr. Mostly he just remembered that they had a lot of teeth.  
>As they walked along they saw birds, rabbits and squirrels. They startled a herd of deer and saw a fox lurking in the shadows, but no sign of the big cats.<p>

"Did you have a plan for finding them?" Loki asked after a bit.

Thor didn't answer, pushing on in a rather annoyed fashion. He did not like this waiting, and he did not want to hear Loki's "I told you so" 

Suddenly Loki grabbed Thor's shoulder, stopping the blonde in his tracks. "Shh."

"What?" Thor asked, stopping obediently.

"Quiet," Loki hissed, "I'm trying to listen."

Thor obediently fell silent, listening, trying to hear whatever Loki heard. But he heard nothing.

"I hear nothing," he finally said.

"Exactly," Loki said, "No birds. No other animals. It's dangerous here." He grinned at Thor, "We are close."

Thor drew his sword. Loki did not draw a weapon, but Thor knew his brother well enough to know that his brother would be armed to the teeth the instant he needed to be.

They heard something crashing through the underbrush and Thor darted forward excitedly. His heart was racing and his blood was up. Now they were going to have some fun! He came to a stop, disappointed, when he saw a large deer staggering through the bush.

Loki saw the animal as well, his green eyes narrowing slightly. The animal was ill, dying. As he watched, it collapsed to its knees. Then he smiled and pulled Thor down into the bushes to hide.

"That is perfect bait," he told Thor, "It's an easy meal for them."

Thor caught Loki's smile. "Then we wait."

The two waited for some time. Loki felt a bit bad for the deer. If they didn't need it to attract the attention of the big cats, he would have ended its suffering right there.  
>Suddenly the deer raised its head, looking around. Loki saw it first, and pointed it out to Thor. Hiding in the underbrush directly across from them were a pair of glowing red eyes. Without warning, the large cat jumped on the unfortunate deer. Loki had just a moment to admire the pelt of the animal, dark stripes on a tawny brown coat.<p>

Thor sprang to his feet before Loki could stop him.

"Wait brother!" he started to protest, "Kottr always-"

Thor charged at the big cat, swinging his sword. Dinner forgotten, the Kottr turned its attention to the new threat. It jumped off the deer and snarled at Thor. Unlike most animals, Kottr had no fear of anything, Aesir included.

It pounced on Thor, but the blonde kicked it away, sending it flying into a tree. The creature was dazed for a moment and then shook its head, roaring at Thor and coming at him, mouth wide, displaying a fine set of teeth. Thor grinned to himself at the sight.

The cat pounced again, swiping at Thor with a massive paw. Thor countered with his sword, blocking the attack, and scoring a shallow cut on the animal's paw. It wasn't enough to seriously injure the creature, but it did enrage it. But oddly enough, the cat didn't charge again. Instead, it backed off.  
>"Ha!" Thor shouted, "But there will be no escape for you, my worthy foe."<p>

He didn't hear Loki's warning shout as he was tackled from his left side.

The mighty Aesir went down under the weight of another Kottr. Thor landed on his back, gazing up into the very sharp fangs of a very large, very angry animal. It roared at Thor, sinking it's claws into his shoulder armor. Fortunately, it didn't pierce the thick leather.

"Close your eyes!" Loki commanded.

Thor obeyed unquestioningly. There was a blinding flare and Thor felt something very hot pass over him. The Kottr let out a pained yelp and released Thor. The blonde Aesir opened his eyes to see a somewhat singed Kottr retreating into the bushes. They did not fear any living creatures, that was true, but every animal feared fire.

Loki was standing a short distance away, still holding out his hand. "Let's get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without that tooth!" Thor scrambled to his feet.

His brother said something that he would certainly not say in the presence of his mother. Then he turned and whirled, throwing a dagger that flew true, earning him a pained yelp from the first Kottr.

Thor rushed the fallen creature and brought his sword down sharply on the Kottr's neck, killing it instantly. He regarded the dead animal. Even in death, the eyes were fierce. "Well fought," he told it appreciatively.

Suddenly, from behind him, was a roar and Loki gave a shout. Thor turned just in time to see his brother go down under the other (singed) Kottr. It seemed that the cat had not appreciated Loki setting it on fire.

"Loki!" Thor lunged at the cat, tackling it right in the midsection. Loki let out soft "oof" as his brother landed on him, but he had knocked the Kottr off Loki, dislodging the creature's claws from Loki's shoulder, so he wasn't about to complain.

Thor got to his feet, but the Kottr recovered faster, dragging its claws down the back of Thor's shoulder, ripping his tunic. The Aesir gave a roar of rage and wrenched the cat off him.  
>Loki launched another dagger through the air. About midway between Loki and the Kottr, the dagger burst into flames, burying itself in the side of the beast. The Kottr staggered a bit, managed one last snarl and then collapsed in death.<p>

The two Aesir stood there for a moment, breathing hard. Loki's right shoulder hurt.

"Do not forget the teeth," he muttered after a long moment, handing Thor a knife.

After Thor had removed the teeth from one Kottr he moved on to the next one. Loki followed after him, using his own knife and a bit of magic to carefully skin the animals. While watching his brother finish the messy task, Thor caught his breath.

"Drag that other one over here," Loki directed him, "I want to dispose of the bodies properly."

Thor acquiesced, bringing the first Kottr to lay next to the other one. Loki stood up and held his hands over them, murmuring something. Smoke started to rise from the carcasses and then they burst into flame.  
>Once the bodies were nothing but ash, the two made their way back to where they'd kept the horses.<p>

Once they were out of the forest, Loki turned to his brother. "I hope that you got enough teeth from this adventure."

"More than enough," the blonde replied gleefully, "This will be perfect."

"Good," Loki muttered, "Because we are not doing this again."

When they finally returned to Asgard, Loki dismounted a bit stiffly and handed the reins to a waiting stableboy.

"Well you two weren't gone long at all," the stablemaster greeted them, "Find what you were looking for?"

Thor grinned proudly and opened his mouth to reply, but Loki stepped in front of him. "It wasn't as useful as I would have liked," he said, "But it wasn't a wasted trip."

"That's good to hear-" the stablemaster trailed off when he saw the sight of the two, a bit bruised and disarrayed. "What in the world?"

Thor started to answer, but Loki skillfully cut him off again. "As much as it pains me to admit it, my brother was right," Loki said, "We ran into a bit of trouble with wild beasts. Fortunately we managed to drive them off."

"So near the road?" the stablemaster gasped, "The AllFather should hear of this."

"It was one creature," Loki said, "And it was mad." He held up a hand to stay any questions from the stablemaster, "Neither of us were bitten, and I destroyed the body. All the same though, we shall both be visiting Eir just to be sure."

"You two should hurry on and get yourself looked after then," the stablemaster said with a nod, shooing the two Aesir off.

"Well done brother," Thor said once they were out of earshot, "Now all that remains is to have these crafted into a necklace. Do you know anyone who could-?"

"Oh no," Loki interrupted, "My involvement with this is done."

"Loki…"

"No."

"Loki, brother, listen to me," Thor said, holding out the bag of teeth and fur, "This is more important to me than anything else."

Loki closed his eyes, sighed, and then opened them again. "I'll see what I can do."

The next morning, Loki cornered his brother. "Come with me. I have something to show you." He held out his hand and with a flick of the wrist a wooden box appeared. He opened the box to reveal a necklace. The chain consisted of three delicate chains - two gold, one silver - braided together. One large fang, set in a golden setting, hung from the center, and two smaller teeth flanked the larger one.

Thor's eyes grew and a huge grin spread across his face. "That is exactly what I was looking for! How did you manage it?"

"I have friends among the Dvergar," Loki responded, "There are no better craftsmen."

Thor took the box from his brother and closed the lid. "She will love it," he grinned at Loki, "She is a girl, of course she will love it."

"After all that work, I certainly hope so," Loki responded.

Thor rushed off to find Sif. Loki watched him go and then shook his head and returned to his chambers. He flopped down on a couch in his bedchamber which was now sporting a handsome striped fur blanket. He stroked the fur happily. He was doubtful that Thor's brilliant plan for wooing Sif would be a success, but at least he had a fine new blanket to show for it.


End file.
